Clark Handicap – Preview and Top Picks

The Clark Handicap is one of the most famous thoroughbred horse races of the year; since it has been held since 1875 and is a Grade 1 race. This means horses of at least 3 years old can participate and have a juicy prize of $750,000. This race historically takes place at the end of November and, as it is one of the oldest races, it is one of the most important of the year.

In this race, we have become used to seeing both, horses and riders, who do not save anything; always giving everything in each of the races from the start. Experienced riders generally participate; since it is a high-pressure race in which important decisions have to be made in certain sections of the track.

This race is run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, and is a race that is currently 1 1/8 miles.

The winning horse of last year’s edition was Bodexpress, a 4-year-old horse ridden by Rafael Bejarano and trained by Gustavo Delgado. Although it was not the best time (1: 49,12), they managed to get a good difference from their opponents to take the victory.

Next, we will show the list of the horses that will participate in this event. Along with it, a brief explanation of how some of them arrive.

Main horses at the Clark Handicap

Unless we have a surprise on race day, the Midnight Bourbon horse is the clear favorite to take first place in this Clark Handicap. Midnight Bourbon’s season has been very good. However, not the one that its coach, Asmussen would like; since, despite obtaining good results (second and third places), Midnight Bourbon has not managed to finalize its talent by taking a victory.

Another very good contender in this fight is, without a doubt, Maxfield. He has had a season very similar to that of Midnight Bourbon. Despite having played pure Grade 1 races in this 2021, according to experts, it is not a horse to be at this level. In the same way, Maxfield’s results are not bad at all; he has managed to reap several second places in the races contested.

Another horse that may surprise is the 3-year-old King Fury. King Fury started the 2021 season with everything, but he had a drop in his speed that led him to finish in fifth place at Travers. However, after this, he managed to recover and had a 13-length victory in the Bourbon Trail Stakes. Then he had a bad race again, so, we have that he is a very inconsistent horse since he is in full development.